From Fake News to Hate News: The CNN Story

President Trump called the CNN “Fake News” and then downgraded it to “Very Fake News.” However, CNN has set new standards for itself by transforming itself into “Hate News.” It recently commissioned Reza Aslan to make the documentary “Believer.” Aslan is an Islamic apologist who attempts to whitewash jihad. He has claimed, contray to facts, that Islam outlawed slavery. Aslan was, however, not content with giving Islam a botox-like makeover. This time, with CNN’s sponsorship, he decided to demonize Hinduism and the Hindus.

“Believer,” under the garb of presenting Hinduism, portrays, with a fertile dose of revolting variety of imagination, an esoteric and elusive sect of ascetics called the Aghoris. The documentary characterizes the ancient Hindu sacred city of Varanasi as the “City of the Dead.” It describes the sacred rite of immersing the ashes from funeral rites into the river as “dumping.” Hinduism is portrayed as morbid and deathly. Aslan portrays India as the land of cannibals and atrociously claims to have eaten cooked brain tissue with a group of cannibals in India. He stops short of claiming to have visited the netherworld while he was in India.

CNN would’ve never portrayed Islamic burial rites as “dumping.” It would’ve never portrayed the Christian holy city of Jerusalem as the “City of the dead.” It would never allow a dishonest commentator to portray any other country as the land of cannibals. Instead, it entrusted the job of presenting Christianity to Christian theologians. Why would it then entrust the job of presenting Hinduism to a Hinduphobic bigot and an apologist of Islam who fabricates hateful stereotypes to present one of the greatest religions?

There can only be one answer. CNN intentionally indulged in hate speech against the Hindus. CNN and Aslan resurrected hateful and false stereotypes from the colonial era to demonize an advanced civilization. One may recall that during the conquest of the Americas Native American culture was portrayed in similarly racist terms which led to the destruction of the Native Americans. Hate speech has consequences. Hate speech has no place in a civilized society.

CNN has done something which even the vilest racist portals and terrorist propaganda sites haven’t attempted. CNN has brought hate speech to the living room and made it fashionable. If we fail to condemn the CNN now then we are not standing up for humanity. CNN should know that there are consequences for spreading racism and hatred. Please share this condemnation in social media. Appeal to the Government of India to ban the CNN and its affiliates. At the minimum, a racist news channel shouldn’t make profits from the fastest growing economy in the world. Ideally “Hate News” should be “dumped.”